tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590358285673767171.post6696126547578678867..comments2023-05-28T17:47:26.943-07:00Comments on A Nice Place To Live: The World's Worst MemeAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08064363064872625529noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590358285673767171.post-37112102574820440132014-04-28T11:26:34.825-07:002014-04-28T11:26:34.825-07:00The "world's worst meme" part was re...The "world's worst meme" part was referring to "self-sacrifice," so it apples equally to Stallman's campaign as it does to effective altruism. I don't know what the world's actual worst meme is but self-sacrifice could be in the running.<br /><br />The idea behind the post is that EAs are staring up an unusually steep hill when it comes to marketing and outreach because genuine self-sacrifice is so unappealing. I think EAs often act as if the product they are selling is like any other product when this isn't the case. <br /><br />I've mentioned in past posts that I don't think EA ideas can spread much without becoming "cool" or for there to be some type of payoff. This post is just an extension of that idea. It's also relevant to debates about whether to pitch EA from the perspective of moral obligation or the perspective of "excited altruism."Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08064363064872625529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6590358285673767171.post-83164235276662292502014-04-27T21:26:48.587-07:002014-04-27T21:26:48.587-07:00I know this is humorous, but "the world's...I know this is humorous, but "the world's worst meme" is, in my opinion, an exaggeration. Richard Stallman's campaign to get everyone to use only free software is clearly a worse meme. You're supposed to give up Apple, Google, Facebook, etc., and use a crappy computer that runs Linux on top of open-source firmware. In return, you get "freedom." And nobody else benefits.<br /><br />There have been hundreds of cults that are far weirder than effective altruism, and hardly any of them catch on.<br /><br />I think you could write similar satire about Teach for America, the Peace Corps, vegetarianism, etc. Effective altruism is pretty new. And it has the advantage of being right. Just give it some time.Pathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14368549042223591172noreply@blogger.com